DIY MISTING SYSTEM

[Pdelago]

Hey guys and gals,

I was just curious if anybody had any general ideas or a recommendations of pumps/valves they used for their misting system.

I can make a sump out of just about anything but I was just wonder what are some good pumps and valves if I wanted a two nozzle system on a timer to turn on and off a couple times a day.

Thanks!

-Paul

 

[broderp]

I looked into this and although I felt I could accomplish it, the time and money was better put into buying a Mist King. The part that thru me over the top was the timer itself. I will admit, the pump (I bought the basic system) is much quieter than the one I had and was going to use. I would recommend a seconds timer like this or similar:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010AH61G4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[JacksJill]

If broderp says there isn't a better or cheaper way to do it believe him. No one spends more time trying to improve the systems and set ups than he does.

 

[broderp]

If broderp says there isn't a better or cheaper way to do it believe him. No one spends more time trying to improve the systems and set ups than he does.

Wow, I'm not sure what to say. Thanks for the kind words. (or a joke on me that went over my head ) As an engineer (electrical) I am also frugal. The company I have worked for the last 22 years makes world class products for the food industry. I know material cost, development cost as well as markups. I see stuff cost us $1000 to make and we sell it for $8000. So I am always skeptical.

I did price out several parts, including cheap pumps, generic nozzles and timers, but in the end given what I had to buy, and the cost savings were not that great. The $10-15 I saved was not worth it if I happened to run into an issue. It's a gamble. I was asking about the GPM and other tech specs of the Mist King to see if I could "copy" them closely with the items I found. I came real close - on paper but decided to save the development time and just buy the Mist King. I chose not to take that chance and have to source and get other components if my idea didn't work out. In the end, although the cost would be cheaper, you may spend more as you will need to test and try parts. I learned this lesson when I designed and made my own controller for my Chams terrarium. I didn't want to spend the $300-$500 for a "professional model" so I designed and made one from off the shelf components. I stuck with it and am now on version 2.0, but have every bit of $600 in it with all the spare parts and stuff. I could make a second one and recoup some of the cost, but since I know it works, I'm already looking at improvements.

If the OP wants to try this and has the money, time and resources then I's love to follow his thread and see how he did it.

 

[Pdelago]

I was just having a hard time finding a misting kit that had good reviews so that's why I figured I would just try to come up with everything on my own. I am just now hearing of the "MistKing" and it looks like a quality product. I'm going to do a little bit more studying on how I want to set it up but thank you for showing me that! I think I will end up buying the starter kit.

 

[walzy444]

I am actually building my own..Just because I have most of the stuff.. I have salt water reef tank and a RODI water purifier with a water psi booster pump with a 60psi limiter.. aka the same diaphram pump used for mist king.. i bought mister nozzels and push fittings off ebay... (they look like carborater jets) got 5 of them(gold metal jets screw into the push fittings.). with one stopper end(plug).. i used the same 1/4" pex tubing i had left over from my RODI system..I just bought a water shut off spicket for the resevoir bucket, and a few T fittings for the pex lines. The pump plugs in.. so i will plug the pump into a WEMO wifi plug (you can set when to turn it on and off or manually control from ur phone via wifi..) If my cages were near a water line i would directly connect it via pex and hook up a sprinkler system timer to it.. the pressure from the faucet is enough psi to make mist thro these misters. (my condo has 40psi from fauce and my moms house is 70+psi.. oh how i miss that shower...)but i need to pump from a bucket so i need the diaphram pump.. when i disconnected it, there was actually water still in the line and when i pick up the tubing it sprayed in my face haha so apparently gravity fed may prob even work for these misters haha

I made it so i can disconnect the pump and still reconnect it to my water purification system when I make water for my tank

 

[Remkon]

I researched what it would cost me to get a decent misting system in parts but I couldn't piece it together cheaper with the same quality than my 100€ 2 nozzle kit I bought from Dutchrana...
It excluded the timer but who doesn't have those laying around, right?

 

[JacksJill]

Wow, I'm not sure what to say. Thanks for the kind words. (or a joke on me that went over my head )

I meant that sincerely. Don't get used to it I'm already going thru sarcasm withdrawal as I write this.
Seriously, you do your research especially on the mechanical aspects.

 

[broderp]

I meant that sincerely. Don't get used to it I'm already going thru sarcasm withdrawal as I write this.
Seriously, you do your research especially on the mechanical aspects.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

[Pdelago]

I made a dripper system for now and turned the water fountain into a plant pot because it started spewing water onto the floor even on the lowest setting.

He likes the dripper, first time I put it in there I saw him drink from it 3 times which I never saw him before.

I just let it slow drip all day and it fills about a half of a cup on the floor.

Misting system is in the works but he likes it so far. Thanks for the tips

 

[walzy444]

These are the misters i got.. and they will prob work on gravity fed(like i said there was water in the tube and hwne i picked them up they were spraying all over the place haha) or even just hooking to a fish tank water pump to clear tube and have these at the ends.. plug the pump into a timer and put pump in a bucket of water. wal-lah!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/232070974811?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[ispeedonthe405]

The pump is the only expensive part of a typical mister setup and I found it difficult to source a comparable unit without coming at least close to the price of a prefab kit. That didn't stop me, as I assembled my own anyway. The pump alone cost me more than a Climist or Mistking kit but it runs at 150 psi and uses very fine brass nozzles to produce something a lot more like mist than rain. While I do like the mist it produces, if I were to do it over again I would probably just buy a kit.

You can however do neat things with reservoir-fed, automatic drip systems. An aquarium pump with a good 6' of head doesn't cost a lot. Tubing and fittings are cheap at Home Depot or Lowes. I used that kind of setup to make my own, "open" version of the Chameleon Cantina. By open I mean the drips fall over some fake leaves attached to a small sheet of acrylic and the water just falls to the bottom of the habitat and drains out.

 

[RcManChild]

Can you make your own... yes... is it worth it?... time is money... I found my time better spent designing and building an aesthetically pleasing terrarium than trying to save $50 on a misting system that has been proven over and over and over again. Not to mention replacement parts are readily available... So if your one off pump fails you're not stuck trying to find a similar replacement.

 

[Tackett]

How big is the reservoir that you are going to be using to feed the system?

My advice is to get a AC pump, and put a gate valve on it. Most AC pumps won't have any issues with back pressure when it comes to dialing back the flow.

I plan on using one of these:
Fluval Sea SP2 Sump Pump for Aquarium https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009XSGHQ6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_T8r-ybVZ9E56N

Whatever you do when you install the pump make sure you use unions after the outlet so you can remove the pump for service without having to destroy all your plumbing.

Edit:
I have the sp6 of that pump feeding my refugium and other things in my tank, it has been running 24/7x365 for 5 years now without fail.

 

[broderp]

Just a question, but isn't there a difference in the pressure using any pump for an aquarium, where the water is allowed to flow freely as opposed to thru a misting nozzle that will provide a lot of back pressure? Are these pumps designed to work under such loads?

 

[Tackett]

AC pumps don't care about head pressure. Excess pressure just gets expelled out of the inlet. I operate a pump 24/7 that's totally closed off except when I want to do water changes. It's about 20 years old.

Newer DC pumps are a different story. Increasing head pressure on those will fry the motor. (Of course it depends on the design).

Edit
Oh, I have a blue line velocity t4 operating as a return pumping water up 15' to the living room tank along with size reduction down to 3/4" at the outlet. That's a ton of head pressure and it also operates 24x7.